Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: There's a lot of things that when I read I don't understand, I'm sorry. But the things that I do understand I want to make sure that I do those things that God has asked me to do. They were mocking the question. They were mocking Jesus. The Sadducees thought that the spiritual world would be like a physical world they lived in forever, which was not true.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. We're so glad to have you with us today for our ongoing Bible-based study of the afterlife. As Raul responds to the question of whether husbands and wives remain married in heaven, he'll underscore the total fulfillment we will one day experience in God's presence.

Stay with us today for a challenge to continually pursue depth and growth in your relationship with the Lord, anticipating the day that you'll finally see Him face to face. Today's lesson is titled, "Are People Married in Heaven?" Here's Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: Turn to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12. "Are people married in heaven?" That's a question that a lot of people have. What happens to people that are married when they die? Husband and wives, do we meet in heaven as a husband and a wife?

There were a group of people called the Sadducees that they didn't believe in the resurrection. They didn't believe in angels. They didn't really believe in life after death. And there are people today in the same way, that when you talk to them, they doubt eternity. But you have to understand one thing: that there is a heaven and there is a hell, according to the Bible.

And when Christ comes again back to the earth, before He comes back, we have the rapture of the church. In the rapture of the church, Paul telling us that one day Christ will come, and there's a generation that will never die. And so when Christ comes and takes that people, they will be taken at the Harpaso, or the rapture of the church, according to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 11 through 18. When they come to that place, they're going to sit there and they're going to be able to go to heaven. And for the last seven years of world history, they're going to be at the Bema seat of Christ. We will be there.

But those that were not taken at the rapture of the church, according to Revelation, those people that will not only go to heaven, but as a matter of fact, those people that will be called martyrs, that there's going to be a lot of them that are going to be killed once they see their relatives leave. And everything they witnessed to them about, they know now it's true. So they'll have to be beheaded, the Bible says that, by the antichrist. That's the only way they'll get to heaven.

The rest of the people for the last seven years of world history, they will have to go through a dark time, a dark time. The antichrist ruling. The Jews also will go through a dark time. They'll build the third temple in the first three and a half years. In the last three and a half years, the Bible calls it the Great Tribulation. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be able to survive it. No flesh.

And here we have an incredible story, a true story about marriage. "Is there marriage in heaven?" Well, we're going to read that in a moment here because the answer is no. Look at the beginning of chapter 12, beginning with verse 18 to 23. We're going to hit three points here. Number one, it is called a false belief, a false belief of the Sadducees that did not believe in the resurrection.

The Sadducees were trying to discredit, discredit Jesus. And there are a lot of people today that are trying to discredit you, discredit me because we believe in Jesus and we believe in life after death, and we believe in heaven. And yet they don't believe in hell. And then one day when they are there, like the rich man looking across to the other side, watching Abraham, watching Lazarus, and saying this: "Father Abraham, can you send Lazarus from this side to the other side to take water in his finger and come over and put it in my tongue because I am burning in this flames?"

That's what the Bible says. That's not what people say. That's what the Bible teaches. Nobody can cross from one side to the other side. He could see, he could speak, he could not only hear, he could touch and taste. These were the things that we need to understand, we need to read about.

Because surely, as a child of God, you can accept Christ. The Bible talks also in the book of Matthew chapter 13, that there's a person that doesn't really have faith. There's a person that has a little bit of faith, but as things come in your life, you walk away from Christ. But then there's those that money and power and the world drives them away from Christ and they don't accept Christ.

But then there's a fourth, and the fourth says that those are true believers and they bring forth fruit. And the only way to bring forth fruit is by having the Holy Spirit in your life. That's the only way. So for me, it has been a real blessing studying God's Word, recognizing who He is, not who I am, but who He is, and what He's done in my life and what He continues to do in my life and in your lives.

And here we have these Sadducees trying to discredit Jesus. In verse 18, he says this: "And then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection." Notice that. "They came to Jesus and they asked Him saying..." We'll get that in a moment. So the city gates now are getting ready to close. It's Tuesday. On Thursday, Jesus will be crucified. And then on Sunday, He rises again from the dead.

These men were among those who comprised the principal leadership, notice of who? Of the Sanhedrin. The Pharisees, there was probably about 6,000 Pharisees at that time. They were the self-righteous, the ones that it was time to pray and they carried these little mats with them and they spread them out no matter where they were, like the Muslims today.

At that time, the Pharisees would spread out their little mat and they would pray. And they were the ones that knew the Bible and they were self-righteous, and yet they would not live by the Bible because they still wanted Jesus to be killed. They wanted Jesus to be killed. And the reason is because He gave to them the word of God, salvation, resting in Him, and then the hope of resurrection and one day to be in heaven with Him forever and ever and ever and ever. It's incredible what the Bible teaches.

Look at the resurrection denied by the scoffers in verse 19 to 23. "Teacher," they're asking, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies and leaves his wife behind and leaves no children, this was the law. His brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and died. He says the second after, the second took her and he died, and notice and left no offspring, no kids.

He says, "And so seven had her and they all left no offspring, and the last of all, finally the woman died." Imagine, seven, and then the woman died after going through seven of them. "Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, notice whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife." Good question, special question for today. Especially with all the doctrines that are being floating around in different churches, that even though here through the past centuries, liberal-minded people have laughed at the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, when you go home, verses 12 to 58, he talks about the resurrection. And then we notice that they use Moses' law. They were using Moses' law, the Bible, the Levite law for their argument. Deuteronomy 25, verses 5 to 6, listen to what it says: "If brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, then the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside of the family."

You couldn't marry somebody outside of the family. Her husband's brother shall go into her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. It shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. The name was very important to keep the generations.

When a husband died and had no son, the law said that his brother not only had to follow in marriage, but to have that child. And until he would have a son. And you see, according to the law, the son was considered the firstborn of the brother that died. And then it was to help preserve and enlarge, notice, the nation of Israel, to enlarge it.

By this is sure things: number one, that the family would continue, continue. Secondly, the property holdings was kept in the family, you see. And then we notice the seven brothers. We notice that each of them brothers obeyed the law, but each died having the children. And then finally the woman dies. "Whose wife she is in eternity?" That's the question that comes up.

"Whose wife is it going to be in eternity?" Well, let me give you the answer: nobody's. In heaven we're not married anymore. We have new bodies. Christ becomes our bridegroom, we become His bride. And to me, when I read the whole book of Revelation, you begin to see that when Christ comes at the second coming, the kingdom age comes a thousand years. After a thousand years, then the new heaven and the new earth.

But before the new heaven and the new earth, the books are going to be opened, Revelation chapter 20, 11 through 15. And whoever is not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire which hell filled today. The devil, the antichrist, the false prophet, and any demon, any demon will be taken and cast into the lake of fire forever away from the light into darkness. That's the word of the Lord.

And this is why in this lesson this morning, we want to make sure we understand that there in heaven, whose wife will it be? No one's. Nobody. We shall be known as He is known, the Bible says.

Raul Ries: There's a lot of things that when I read I don't understand, I'm sorry. But the things that I do understand I want to make sure that I do those things that God has asked me to do. They were mocking the question. They were mocking Jesus. The Sadducees thought that the spiritual world would be like a physical world they lived in forever, which was not true.

The scripture was very clear about this subject. You see, the natural man cannot understand the spiritual things of God. For example, in 1 Corinthians 2:14, it says: "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God." Now, who receives the Spirit of God? Those that are born again of the Holy Spirit. That's us. Because the Holy Spirit, first of all, convicted you.

Somebody was praying for you. You started getting convicted. And as you get convicted, eventually you surrender and you gave your life to Christ by repentance, and then the Holy Spirit came upon you. He's with you, He's in you, and He comes upon you, the Bible says. It's so awesome to see what God says.

"But the natural man, for they are foolishness to him, the things of God. Nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual, what does he do? He judges all things. Judges all things. Yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may be instructing Him? But we have the mind of Christ." Remember that. We have the mind of Christ. That's why we have to be careful what we put into our minds because from our minds it goes to our hearts. We have to be very careful with that.

In 1 Corinthians 15:12, Paul says, "Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?" How can people say that if the Bible is real? You see, we need to know that the last days there will be scoffers. They will try to take you away from your faith. Satan is the greatest enemy. That when you don't read the Bible, you don't study, you come to church once in a while, he is going to come after you and he's going to get you good. That's what the Bible teaches.

And this is why Jesus was so strict in the resurrection. Look at second point here, verse 24 to 27. A truth answered here concerning the resurrection. He says this: Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken? Aren't you guys mistaken in this because you do not believe nor know the scriptures nor know the power of God?" He challenges them. He goes right to the issue.

He says, "You guys, why are you turning people away from me? Why do you lie?" If you don't believe, that's your problem. But there are people that believe and they follow Jesus Christ. The resurrection is different from the earthly experience. For number one, we see that they do not know the power of God and His word, the Bible, when you read it. It speaks to you.

Secondly, we see that they do not have the power of God. That's important. In the book of Acts, he talks about what's going to happen to you. When you come to Christ and Christ left after 40 days, He went to heaven. He said, "On the 50th day, I want you in Jerusalem and I want you to be sitting and waiting as the Holy Spirit will come and will baptize you with power, the power of God."

The power to live the Christian life, the power to witness to people, the power to read, to believe in what Christ says. And the Holy Spirit, by the way, in Ephesians 4:30, says that you can grieve the Holy Spirit of God. The word to grieve is to bring pain to the Holy Spirit because He is a person. And what grieves the Holy Spirit of God? Sin. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit of God.

And then the Holy Spirit scriptures, Romans 1:2, he says, "which He promised before through His prophets in the holy scriptures." Again, the word of God. The prophecies in the Old Testament, the prophecies fulfilled in the New Testament. So awesome the way the word of God. Another title is the Word of God, Hebrews chapter 4:12: "For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and it's a discerner of the thoughts and the intents," guess what? "The heart." The intent of your heart, the intent of my heart.

And then in James 1:21, he says, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word of God, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word of God, not just hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror." And then what happens? He goes away. He becomes the same person. The Bible is so clear, so clear when you come to the Word of God.

In verse 25, he says: "For when they rise from the dead, neither they marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven." You see, a different form. We're going to be known as He is known. The angels were created beings. You see, created beings. And this is why in the book of Isaiah 14 and then Ezekiel 28, when Satan was in the presence of God, and when they were there somehow, when you read the five "I wills", that Satan said, "I will be like God the highest."

And when God saw that, He took him and He cast him out, and it says one-third of the angels followed him. They became demons. Those are the ones that destroy people's lives. And he says what? "But are like the angels of heaven." So when we study the resurrection, it's so different from an earthly experience, according to the word of God.

And check this out: no more marriage, no more death, no more flesh, no more blood, no more corruption, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more curse, no more night, no more wicked people, and no end to our lives. That's heaven. The Sadducees did not know the scriptures and the power of God. They thought of the resurrection going into another world. They didn't believe in going into another world. They didn't believe that.

They thought they were going to be living forever in their own flesh. They saw life as a continuing as it never will end, but in the wrong place. They could not believe that God would change the qualities of life and give us a new environment that we can live in. This is not our home, you guys. It's coming. This is not our home. Don't get secure. Don't get comfortable.

And then in conclusion, concerning the proof of the resurrection, no more marriage. But verse 26 he says, "But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, the Pentateuch, which is Genesis, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy?" He says, "In the burning bush passage, how God spoke to Moses saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken," He says.

Imagine Moses being there in chapter 3 of Exodus. He's spent 40 years in Egypt. And what's awesome here is that when Moses comes to that place to take the people out of Egypt, God molds him and shapes him the way He wants to do it, and there in chapter 3, he saw burning bush as he was taking care of sheep. And he went up and a voice came out of the actual fire and said, "Moses, where you're standing is holy ground. Take off your dirty shoes." He's God. "I am the becoming one."

Moses was so touched by that, that he knew this was God. And so you see as I read the scriptures and the stories, man, it encourages me. And I get excited because so the scripture teaches. He goes on, "He spoke, 'I am the God of Abraham, I am the becoming one of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.'"

So the resurrection here that we see is the living relationship with Christ that cannot be broken. Only thing that can break that is sin. Dying in sin because you don't have Christ in your life. God is the God of the past, notice, and in the present and the future. God's relationship is active and notice in my life. How about your life? Is He an active person in your life?

God's relationships are God's rewardings. Hebrews chapter 11:13, the chapter of faith. Go home and read the whole chapter 11. He says in verse 13, "These all have died in faith." We haven't seen Jesus, but I believe by faith. "Not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. We are sure of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were stronger pilgrims on earth," speaking of the past, the prophets.

He says, "For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland." And that's heaven. "And truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had an opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore, because of this, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for us." Wow. For us. Man, it amazes me how God, the God of the living, not of the dead.

Guest (Male): We only have glimpses of what life will be like in our heavenly home, but they're enough to know that we can anticipate amazing joy and contentment in the presence of God. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. The title of today's study was "Are People Married in Heaven?"

If you'd like to get an unedited copy with much more teaching, we'll be happy to send one to you for a donation of $5 or more. Simply call us at 800-634-9165. To further enhance your understanding of what lies ahead, we'd like to tell you about Raul's series titled "Heaven or Hell." It's a four-lesson study that's available on either CD or thumb drive.

As you consider the reality of these two eternal destinations, you'll find greater assurance that the Lord has provided a way for you to commune with Him forever, free from the weight of sin and death, all through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. To order Raul's four-part "Heaven or Hell" series, visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165.

We'll send you the CD set for $18 or the flash drive for just $10. That's 800-634-9165. Now you can also order this resource by writing to us at Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries is completely listener-supported. Thank you for partnering with us and sharing the good news of the gospel with the world.

Next time, we'll continue this series with glimpses of the amazing home that God has prepared for us in heaven. We don't have all the details, but we've been given enough to anticipate a wonderful future. This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.